Monday, November 28, 2011

QOTD

What should Republicans do? If Republicans want to show that they’re remotely as committed to eliminating Obamacare as Obama was in imposing it, there are plenty of actions they can take. Congressional Republicans can pass bills to repeal Obamacare’s CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) Act and its grisly IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board)--and then follow that by once again passing full repeal legislation, this time in the midst of a presidential campaign. In addition, they can pass the replacement legislation for Obamacare that they promised voters they would deliver.

Republican presidential candidates can emphasize that repealing Obamacare is by far the most important thing the next administration and Congress can do. They can detail why Obamacare is probably the worst piece of legislation in American history, while unveiling plans to replace it-plans that would lower health costs, end the tax code’s discrimination against the uninsured, and fund state-run community pools to help provide access to coverage for those with prohibitively expensive preexisting conditions.

Beyond that, Republican presidential, congressional, and senatorial candidates would do well to reflect on, and perhaps reconsider, what the coming election is really all about. If Obamacare is one of the worst--maybe the worst--and most unpopular major pieces of legislation ever passed on these shores, and if its fate will likely be decided by the upcoming election (as it will), then why would Republicans say that the upcoming election is mostly about the economy?

Obama knows he cannot win a referendum on Obamacare. His best hope is that Republicans will continue to join him in pretending that this will be a run-of-the-mill election centered around the economy, rather than a historic election in which the citizenry’s verdict will largely determine the future course of the nation.

4 comments:

4) "I've never had particularly good eyesight, but always had ridiculously good hearing. Especially at both the low and top ends. Even after the Tinnitus, which left me with a 45 dB notch at 3.9 kHz in my left ear. I have wondered whether this was related. No synesthesia, but have always been able to "see" symphonic music--when listening to recordings, I can visualize each soloist and visually place its source from left to right."

4) That IS a sort of synesthia, actually, Carl, because your senses are putting a “picture”, a visual, to a sound. It doesn’t have to be the soloist. I hear the individual threads; you do too, I bet. ( I mostly cannot listen to loud pop music and loud modern classical--its way too cacophanous and played WAY too loud.. ). . I honestly don’t think anyone who hasn’t experienced ear this kind of ear stuff has a clue.There is a Dorothy Sayers mystery where the “murderer” is the bells change-ringing when the victim took refuge in the bell tower. That’s a horror story for sure!

5) "I understand the testing is nausea-inducing. Indeed, I've found that always sucking a cough drop helps to control the nausea. Interestingly enough, I've never actually vomited. Just felt like I'm about to, which in some ways is worse. But the Videonystagmography test seems to be critical in determining whether the problem is inner ear (an infection for example) or neurological--and therefor which sort of doctor to consult next. And how, if at all, it connects with migraines (which I've had for 25 years, though fewer in the past five years). Maybe your friend in McLean has some ideas. "

5) You’re right, ongoing nausea is often worse than vomiting itself. If you need a referral, I’ll give you his name---he’s an intuitive diagnostician, besides having a wonderful, witty sense of humor.

6)" I would be thrilled if, like yours, my episodes became fleeting. So this is very helpful. Looking forward to your further thoughts on higher ed."

6) They will, trust me.

The ed. thoughts will follow. I'm not as facile or articulate with economic vocabularies as you are, so I am taking my time writing it to ensure clarity.

Thanks again. I've read that Sayers book, and never could hide out in a bell tower. (And, yes, I, too, detest loud music of any kind. On the other hand, I used to do concert sound mixes and produce records--mostly folk banks--in the 70s and early 80s.) When listening to a good recording (such as a Hogwood on L'Oiseau-Lyre/Decca from the early 80s), I can hear, and see, the bowing of each note in the string section and the plucking of each harpsichord string. If that's synesthia, I guess I have it as well.

For now, I have an "Electronystagmography" test scheduled December 9th. It's not as sensitive as a VNG test, but my own ENT can do it (and insurance will pay for it). As I said, that will tell me whether to continue to treat my inner ear or consult a neurologist. Either way, the vertigo has to get better.

I don't have your ear, but I do have excellent visual senses and capacities, one thing that makes me as good a programmer and software tester, I have a great "holistic" sense of how everything fits together, and can sense potential structural flaws as a direct result.

If you ever need to hire a programmer, one easy, quick triage is to find out how good they are with maps. For example, if they are familiar with an area, ask them to mentally drive you around from point a to point b, identifying things around them as they drive, like traffic lights, major stores and shopping centers, and the like. For someone who is a good programmer, that should be a piece of cake.

Oh OBloodyHell--I'm totally with you, being a cartographer as part of my trade!

A fun thing to do with friends is to set two particular points known well to everybody and ask them all to draw a quick map of getting from point A to point B. While some folks may not be as spacially aware as you are , it is fascinating to discover who notices & remembers what along a very familiar route. Its particularly fun to do this on a brown paper covered table accompanied by some good beer or wine, then all the maps are together on the same page. Its cool.